The last few days were really a blur - in fact the whole 2 weeks were a bit like that for me!! One of the things that really made me realize what a small world this is was meeting an Austria ex pat who had come to work in Weipa in the 70s. He was in the nursing home section of the hospital with dementia and not a soul in the world. I was asked to speak to him about a "not for resuscitation order and it turned out that when he spoke in German he was actually quite articulate and scored 25/30 on a mini mental quiz (used to assess someone's cognitive function). We arranged his will and he was clear on not wanting anything to prolong his life and had quite a chat at the same time.
{Small world again - Johanna also admitted a grey nomad who lived in the same street in Victoria Point that Michael's parents had before their recent move into a retirement home.}
The last morning on call was quite busy. A lot of kerfuffle about an indigenous lady who was about 20 weeks pregnant (not sure as has not had an ultrasound) who had paranoid schizophrenia and lived with a violent husband. When I admitted her she was hearing voices but really just wanted some respite from a dreadful home situation. All took ages.
The afternoon was just great. One of the nurses showed Michael a great beach/lagoon where we could actually paddle (croc free) and we spent some time playing ball with our friends and the kids. We then drove to Red Beach where we saw our first crocodile !! They look very log like till they move.... Had our last supper at the Thai /pizza place and saw a beautiful green tree frog. Kids all exhausted ... I am a bit that way myself. Spent the last day packing, clearing up and handing in that on call phone. Jumped every time someone's mobile rang for a few days afterwards...
Rather nice to get onto the little plane that connects Weipa to the world. Kids behaved well and had a smooth flight. Flight from Cairns left pretty much right away but still got home about 9pm - travel weary and pleased to see East Brisbane again. Michael dreamt about a cup of coffee and I dreamt about a night's uninterrupted sleep ... actually make that a week of uninterrupted sleep.
Overall, it has been an adventure and I am keen to do some more remote rural locum work. I felt challenged and was definitely out of my comfort zone. Australia is really an amazing place.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Finally, a croc
Johanna's last day at work today! Just the usual stuff, a pregnant paranoid schizophenic domestically abused woman, nothing out of the ordinary.
In the afternoon we went to a beach with a safe paddling lagoon that a local showed us.
After that we headed over the river to Red Beach, not sure why it is named that...
And we saw a crocodile at Red Beach, yay!
And then a Jabiru!
In the afternoon we went to a beach with a safe paddling lagoon that a local showed us.
After that we headed over the river to Red Beach, not sure why it is named that...
And we saw a crocodile at Red Beach, yay!
And then a Jabiru!
Friday, July 2, 2010
End of the second week
I have not really contributed to the blog for a few days. The alternate on call is quite draining and I feel very tired. I feel as though I am on a cycle of work, sleep, work... I am managing to fit in a run on most mornings except when I am called out late during the night.
Tuesday was a real highlight for me. We went to a small indigenous community Mapoon which has a small clinic. The medical student came along as well. He is great - has a lot of 4 wheel driving experience and loves the far north. The clinic was a really rewarding place to work. Committed, friendly staff who work really really hard. It was not too busy so we had the opportunity to do some real exploring. We drove up to Cullen Pt which is a very basic and beautiful camping spot near an amazing beach. Unbelievable that you cannot swim as it looks so inviting. Lots of large crocs apparently. We then went on to Pennefeather which was even more amazing. It needs a 4 wheel drive and I have to say there were times that my heart was in my mouth when we drove in the soft sand.
It is incredibly beautiful. Completely isolated. The kids had a ball and I have to say that I found it hard to go back to Weipa to work. I just wanted to camp there away from it all.
Work is challenging but interesting. I have learnt a tremendous amount. I cannot believe how much gonorrhoea and chlamydia you see here. It is treated without taking swabs and urine samples - you just treat for both conditions assuming the results will be positive. Have also had a couple of postive syphilis and even a man with leprosy who was seen by infectious diseases in Cairns and sent back with a treatment pack. My hospital skills are improving exponentially and I am becoming adept once again with things I have not done for eight years or so. The nurses are really helpful and I have been grateful for their support. You really have to rely more on your clinical skills here as it is so hard and time consuming to arrange investigations. There is only xray, with bloods getting flown to Cairns at lunchtime so any evening bloods will not be reported till the next afternoon. Makes it tricky to make clinical decisions. Tonight is my final on call. I finish at 2pm Saturday.
There is another indigenous clinic near Weipa and I have spent quite a lot of time there this week. Various allied health professionals including a dietician, diabetes educator and podiatrist fly in on a fortnightly basis. Problems with alcohol are huge despite it being a supposed "dry" community. Diabetes is endemic and unfortunately compliance with treatment is poor. Poor renal function is almost normal in patients over 40. The kids are fantastic. Very unrestrained and happy, cheeky and full of fun. They are just gorgeous. Our kids seem to have adopted some of the unrestrained living that is possible here due to the lack of potential dangers (busy roads etc). Not sure how they will adapt back in the big smoke ...
Yesterday evening we all went down to the local beach to watch the sunset. Not one of the really spectacular ones but pretty gorgeous all the same. This Saturday we plan to go to Red Beach after my on call finishes. May even try to get another fish!! Will head to the local Thai place for dinner with our friends. There are three Thai chefs and judging from our recent take away from there they are really good.
Tuesday was a real highlight for me. We went to a small indigenous community Mapoon which has a small clinic. The medical student came along as well. He is great - has a lot of 4 wheel driving experience and loves the far north. The clinic was a really rewarding place to work. Committed, friendly staff who work really really hard. It was not too busy so we had the opportunity to do some real exploring. We drove up to Cullen Pt which is a very basic and beautiful camping spot near an amazing beach. Unbelievable that you cannot swim as it looks so inviting. Lots of large crocs apparently. We then went on to Pennefeather which was even more amazing. It needs a 4 wheel drive and I have to say there were times that my heart was in my mouth when we drove in the soft sand.
It is incredibly beautiful. Completely isolated. The kids had a ball and I have to say that I found it hard to go back to Weipa to work. I just wanted to camp there away from it all.
Work is challenging but interesting. I have learnt a tremendous amount. I cannot believe how much gonorrhoea and chlamydia you see here. It is treated without taking swabs and urine samples - you just treat for both conditions assuming the results will be positive. Have also had a couple of postive syphilis and even a man with leprosy who was seen by infectious diseases in Cairns and sent back with a treatment pack. My hospital skills are improving exponentially and I am becoming adept once again with things I have not done for eight years or so. The nurses are really helpful and I have been grateful for their support. You really have to rely more on your clinical skills here as it is so hard and time consuming to arrange investigations. There is only xray, with bloods getting flown to Cairns at lunchtime so any evening bloods will not be reported till the next afternoon. Makes it tricky to make clinical decisions. Tonight is my final on call. I finish at 2pm Saturday.
There is another indigenous clinic near Weipa and I have spent quite a lot of time there this week. Various allied health professionals including a dietician, diabetes educator and podiatrist fly in on a fortnightly basis. Problems with alcohol are huge despite it being a supposed "dry" community. Diabetes is endemic and unfortunately compliance with treatment is poor. Poor renal function is almost normal in patients over 40. The kids are fantastic. Very unrestrained and happy, cheeky and full of fun. They are just gorgeous. Our kids seem to have adopted some of the unrestrained living that is possible here due to the lack of potential dangers (busy roads etc). Not sure how they will adapt back in the big smoke ...
Yesterday evening we all went down to the local beach to watch the sunset. Not one of the really spectacular ones but pretty gorgeous all the same. This Saturday we plan to go to Red Beach after my on call finishes. May even try to get another fish!! Will head to the local Thai place for dinner with our friends. There are three Thai chefs and judging from our recent take away from there they are really good.
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